Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS) successfully organized the Gelar Karya Proyek Kepemimpinan Mahasiswa PPG Prajabatan 1 Tahun 2023 event on Wednesday, May 22, 2023, at the UMS Campus 2 GOR. This event marked the culmination of the students’ semester-long program, aimed at implementing real leadership actions in education within the community, schools, and learning communities in and around Surakarta. The event was attended by 379 students from waves 1 to 3, divided into 41 group stands. Each group showcased various leadership projects they designed and executed.
The projects were assessed by three parties: the community, non-supervising lecturers, and supervising lecturers. The community component involved competent educational movers. The assessment results were then converted into the students’ final grades, with 70 percent coming from classroom and field learning processes, and 30 percent from the project exhibition scores. Agus Susilo, the event coordinator and Secretary of the PPG Study Program at UMS, stated that this event was part of the Final Semester Examination. He hoped the students would become pioneers of learning activities in the community, so that education extends beyond schools to reach a wider community environment.
One of the standout projects was “Sampah Emas Tumbas Plastik,” led by Yusuf Aly and his group. This program developed the concept of a Waste Bank, where they socialized plastic waste management to PKK mothers and collaborated with plastic waste collectors. The waste collected by the mothers was converted into points that could be exchanged for gold. Additionally, the program utilized plastic bottles, especially Le Minerale gallon bottles, as media for growing vegetables. These plastic bottles were cut in half and filled with planting media to grow vegetables, aiming to support household food security. Each home received one vegetable plant, which not only helped the environment but also provided a fresh food source for the family.
The Gelar Karya Proyek Kepemimpinan event is part of Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta’s efforts to produce professional, committed, and lifelong learning teachers. Through the Teacher Profession Program (PPG), UMS supports the government’s vision and mission to realize Advanced Indonesia by creating Pancasila Students who are critical thinkers, creative, independent, faithful, pious to God Almighty, with noble character, cooperative, and globally minded. PPG Prajabatan is a professional education program aimed at bachelor’s or applied bachelor’s graduates, both from education and non-education majors, to obtain a teaching certificate.
This program involves selection and a series of education over two semesters, including lectures, fieldwork, leadership projects, and mentoring. Students in this program are expected not only to master educational theory but also to apply it in real-world practice. They are trained to be teachers capable of facing various challenges in the education world, innovating in teaching methods, and becoming agents of change in the community. Thus, UMS hopes to produce a new generation of Indonesian teachers who are enlightening, excellent, and global, significantly contributing to the development of quality human resources in Indonesia.
By: Lathifah Melita Santi
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